Pamela Sebastian

Began singing: I can’t remember not singing. I joined a children’s choir at the earliest opportunity.

Musical inspirations: Louis Magor, the first SFSC director and the first person to offer me money for singing. At that point I’d never had a voice lesson. I went to music school in my 40’s after my kids were in school.

If I were not a professional singer, I might be an: Editor or a professional calligrapher

Favorite composers: Bach, Mahler, Schütz, Monteverdi

Favorite vocal works: Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Magnificat; Mahler’s Second and Eight symphonies. I love singing almost anything of Handel, Haydn, or Mozart and also love new music.

When I’m not working, I enjoy: Reading, walking, biking, and traveling all over the country and Canada with my husband in our small motor home. I am a continuing student of Italian language and literature. I also waste a lot of time doing Sudoku and crossword puzzles! My other singing job is at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco and that has been a real joy.

Recent reading: I’ve been reading out loud to an elderly friend. We have read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows; The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini; and are working on Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen

Favorite things to do in the Bay Area: We go to a great many, mostly vocal/choral concerts as well as the SFS and SF Opera. I am a bike commuter and love living in such an accessible city with so many cultural, scenic, and culinary choices.